US3540180A - Article loading apparatus - Google Patents

Article loading apparatus Download PDF

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Publication number
US3540180A
US3540180A US738194A US3540180DA US3540180A US 3540180 A US3540180 A US 3540180A US 738194 A US738194 A US 738194A US 3540180D A US3540180D A US 3540180DA US 3540180 A US3540180 A US 3540180A
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United States
Prior art keywords
channel
articles
tray
contact
solenoid
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Expired - Lifetime
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US738194A
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English (en)
Inventor
Robert A Deuell
Guenther W May
Alfred E Oldaker
Thomas J Rajac
Claude O Sage
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International Business Machines Corp
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International Business Machines Corp
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G1/00—Storing articles, individually or in orderly arrangement, in warehouses or magazines
    • B65G1/02—Storage devices
    • B65G1/04—Storage devices mechanical
    • B65G1/12—Storage devices mechanical with separate article supports or holders movable in a closed circuit to facilitate insertion or removal of articles the articles being books, documents, forms or the like
    • B65G1/133—Storage devices mechanical with separate article supports or holders movable in a closed circuit to facilitate insertion or removal of articles the articles being books, documents, forms or the like the circuit being confined in a horizontal plane

Definitions

  • a tray has a plurality of substantially parallel channels therein adapted to be filled in sequence with articles. As each channel is aligned with the source of the articles, the articles are continuously supplied to the channel until the channel is substantially filled. However, complete filling of the channel is prevented by means disposed in the end of the channel remote from the source of supply.
  • the tray is moved to present the next channel for loading from the source.
  • each of the trays When the trays are advanced to a work station, it is necessary to unload the trays to perform work on the articles at the work station. After the work has been performed, each of the trays must again be loaded with the articles to transport the articles to the next work station.
  • the tray may comprise a plurality of substantially parallel channels with each of the channels adapted to hold a number, such as forty, for example, of the articles.
  • a tray having five channels would be capable of transporting two hundred articles from one work station or area to the next. If the loading of the trays is too slow, this results in the production line having its speed of operation reduced. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to load each of the trays as rapidly as possible.
  • each of the articles is arrested or stopped during its fall or travel from the supply source to the channel in the tray by a toggle gate.
  • the toggle gate holds the article until a photocell, which controls the toggle gate and is disposed adjacent the top of the channel being loaded, determines that there is space in the channel for another article.
  • the toggle gate is actuated to release the single article being held; the toggle gate then restrains or arrests the next of the articles until another signal from the photocell indicates that there is space for the next of the articles.
  • This type of loading system is limited in its rate of loading due to the period of motion of the toggle gate.
  • the present invention satisfactorily overcomes the foregoing problem by permitting relatively rapid loading of each channel in the tray.
  • the articles are permitted to fall or flow uninterruptedly from the supply source to the channel until the channel is substantially filled.
  • Blocking means which is located at the end of the channel remote from the end receiving the articles, is positioned to prevent complete filling of the channel.
  • the present invention contemplates storing sufficient articles adjacent the upper end of the channel to fill the space, which the blocking means prevents from being filled initially, after further flow of the articles from the supply source is arrested or stopped.
  • the present invention permits substantially uninterrupted filling of the channel of the tray.
  • a loading rate substantially greater thn six articles per second is easily achieved when utilizing the loading apparatus of the present invention.
  • An object of this invention is to provide an apparatus to load articles for transport.
  • Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for loading articles at a relatively rapid rate.
  • FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the article loading apparatus of the present invention with one tray mounted thereon.
  • FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the article loading apparatus of FIG. 1 with parts broken away to illustrate the indexing mechanism.
  • FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1 and illustrating blocking means for preventing complete loading of the channel in the tray initially and spring depressing means to permit loading of the channel in the tray.
  • FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the connection for actuating the toggle gate.
  • FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with the support wall removed and showing the rela tion between the indexing mechanism and its control and the control for the blocking means, spring depressing means, and toggle gate.
  • FIG. 6 is a schematic wiring diagram for automatically controlling the apparatus of the present invention when utilizing the pneumatic control structure of FIG. 5.
  • FIG. 7 is an elevational view, similar to FIG. 5, showing another embodiment in which an electro-mechanical drive is employed for controlling the indexing mechanism of the present invention.
  • FIG. 8 is a schematic wiring diagram for automatically controlling the apparatus of the present invention when utilizing the electro-mechanical drive of FIG. 7.
  • FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown the article loading apparatus of the present invention including a support 10 having an inclined support wall 11 upon which a tray 12 is supported. It should be understood that a plurality of the trays 12 may be disposed on the wall 11.
  • the support 10 has a lower guide 14 and an upper guide 15 between which the tray 12 is supported and guided in its movement along the support wall 11. The bottom of the tray 12 rests upon the lower guide 14.
  • the tray 12 has a plurality of substantially parallel channels 16 formed therein to receive articles 17 for transport by the tray 12.
  • the articles 17, which may be substrates having pins extending down-- wardly therefrom, for example, are supported on ledges 18 and 19, which are on opposite sides of each of the channels 16.
  • the pins, which extend downwardly from the substrates may freely be disposed within the channels 16.
  • Each of the channels 16 is divided by a longitudinally extending member 20 into two parallel portions 21 and 22.
  • the member 20 permits the portion 21 of each of the channels 16 to be utilized for retaining springs to hold the articles 17 within the channel 16 while the other portion 22 permits utilization of openings in the channel 16 to determine when the channel 16 has a predetermined number of the articles therein.
  • a retaining spring 23 is disposed within the portion 21 of the channel 16.
  • the retaining spring 23 is urged to its dotted line position by a second spring 24 so that the retaining spring 23 retains or holds the articles 17 within the channel 16 when the spring 23 is in its dotted line position.
  • a link 26 of the spring depressing means 25 extends through an opening in the bottom of the tray 12 and an opening in the retaining spring 23 to push the actuating spring 24 sutficiently away from the retaining spring 23 to allow the retaining spring 23 to be moved to the solid line position of FIG. 3.
  • the channel 16 may be filled with the articles 17.
  • An opening 27 is formed in the bottom wall of the tray 12 for communication with the portion 22, which is formed in the channel 16 by the longitudinal member 20. With the tray 12 positioned on the support 10 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the opening 27 is disposed between a photocell 28 and a lamp 29 and in alignment therewith. Thus, when one of the articles 17 is not blocking the opening 27, the photocell 28 is energized by the lamp 29.
  • each of the channels 16 has a similar arrangement of an opening 30 in the portion 21, rather than the portion 22, of the channel 16 and a retaining spring 31 along with an actuating spring 32 in the portion 22, rather than the portion 21.
  • the tray 12 may be arranged with either end at the top to receive the articles 17 and either end at the bottom.
  • one of the channels 16 communicates at its upper end with a passage 33 in a gate housing 34, which is mounted on the support 10.
  • the gate housing 34 has a toggle gate 35 pivotally mounted therein and adapted to block the passage 33 to prevent the flow of articles 17 therethrough when the toggle gate 35 is in a blocking position.
  • the toggle gate 35 preferably has a non-abrasive insert of a suitable material such as plastic, for example, on one end to prevent damage to any of the articles 17 that are engaged by the toggle gate 35 to prevent the articles 17 from flowing into the channel 16 in the tray 12.
  • the passage 33 in the gate housing 34 is connected to a housing 37 (see FIG. 2), which may be the source of the articles 17 or may be connected to the source. Thus, a supply of the articles 17 is continuously available at the top of the passage 33.
  • a blocking lever 38 which is pivotally mounted on the support 10, must be disposed in the solid line position of FIG. 3 to block the lower end of the channel 16 in the tray 12.
  • the blocking member 38 includes an arm 39, which is disposed parallel to the axis of the channel 16, and a projection on the end of the arm 39 for disposition within the channel 16.
  • the lower end of the projection 40 has a pair of pins 41 extending therefrom for disposition in the channel 16 sufiiciently to prevent the article 17 from moving down the channel 16 beyond the pins 41.
  • the pins 41 are positioned so that the length of the space between the pins and the retaining end of the retaining spring 31 is equal to the length of space between just above the top of the opening 27 in the tray 12 and the toggle gate 35 in the gate housing 34.
  • the toggle gate 35 is blocking the passage 33 in the gate housing 34
  • the number of the articles 17 stored beneath the toggle gate 35 and above the opening 27 in the tray 12 with the channel 16 filled except for the blocking lever 38 is equal in number to the articles that will fill the space in the channel 16 block by the blocking lever 38. Accordingly, to properly fill each of the channels 16 in the tray 12, the spring depressing means 25, the toggle gate 35, and the blocking lever 38 must be operated in cooperation with each other in a specific sequence.
  • the spring depressing means 25, the toggle gate 35, and the blocking lever 38 have their positions regulated by a control cylinder 42, which is preferably an air cylinder.
  • the control cylinder 42 has the lower end of its piston rod 43 connected to the blocking level 38, which is urged to its solid line position by a spring 44 having one end fixedly secured to the support 10 and its other end fixed to the lever 38.
  • the piston rod 43 also is connected to the spring depressing means 25 and to the toggle gate 35.
  • the retaining spring 23 is moved to the solid line position of FIG. 3 before the blocking lever 38- is moved to its solid line position of FIG. 3. Then, the toggle gate 35 is moved to the position in which it does not block the passage 33 whereby the articles 17 may flow from the gate housing 34 into the channel 16 in the tray 12.
  • the spring depressing means 25 allows the retaining spring 23 to be moved to the dotted line position to hold or retain the articles 17 within the tray 12, the articles 17, which were disposed within the gate housing passage 33 beneath the toggle gate 35 and in the channel 16 above the top of the opening 27 in the tray 12, will have fallen by gravity into the channel 16 beneath the retaining end of the retaining spring 23.
  • the tray 12 is advanced from right to left in FIGS. 1 and 2 by a pair of chains 47 and 48, which have projections 49 thereon for cooperation with teeth 50 (see FIG. 3) on the back of the tray 12.
  • the projections 49 on the chains 47 and 48 extend upwardly through parallel slots 51 and 52 in the support wall 11. Therefore, accurate indexing of the tray 12 may be obtained through controlling the drive of the chains 47 and 48.
  • the chain 47 passes around sprockets 53 and 54 while the chain 48 passes around sprockets 55 and 56.
  • the sprockets 53 and 55 are mounted on a common shaft 57 while the sprockets 54 and 56 are mounted on a common shaft 58.
  • the shafts 57 and 58 are rotatably mounted on the support 10.
  • the shaft 58 has a ratchet wheel 59 (see FIG. 5) fixedly mounted thereon.
  • a pawl 60 is secured to one end of a piston rod 61 of an index cylinder 62, which is preferably an air cylinder, for cooperation with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 59.
  • the shaft 58 is rotated to index the tray 12 to the left. Therefore, by controlling actuation of the pawl 60, indexing of the tray 12 is regulated.
  • FIG. 6 A circuit for controlling the operation of the article loading apparatus of the embodiment of FIGS. l5 is shown in FIG. 6.
  • the circuit includes a solenoid 65, which controls the flow of fluid to the index cylinder 62 to allow the piston rod 61 of the index cylinder 62 to be moved to the left as viewed in FIG. 5.
  • each energization of the solenoid 65 advances the tray 12 a predetermined distance from right to left in FIGS. 1 and 2. This predetermined distance is the width of one of the channels 16 in the tray 12.
  • the control circuit also includes a solenoid 66, which regulates the operation of the control cylinder 42.
  • a solenoid 66 which regulates the operation of the control cylinder 42.
  • the control circuit includes a DC voltage source 67 such as a battery, for example, connected through a contact 68 of an On-Ofi switch to a positive lead 69, which is connected to one side of the solenoids 65 and 66 through switches.
  • a DC voltage source 67 such as a battery
  • a contact 68 of an On-Ofi switch to a positive lead 69, which is connected to one side of the solenoids 65 and 66 through switches.
  • each of the solenoids 65 and 66 is connected through leads 70 and 71 and a second contact 72 of the On-Ofl switch to the negative side of the DC source 67. Accordingly, whenever the various switches in the circuit to the solenoid 65 or the solenoid 66 are closed, the solenoid 65 or 66 is energized.
  • the photocell 28 is connected between the positive lead 69 and a negative lead 73, which is connected to the negative lead 71, through a relay 74.
  • a relay 74 is connected to the photocell 28 whenever the photocell 28 receives light from the lamp 29, its resistance is lowered sufficiently to permit picking of the relay 74.
  • a timer 75 is connected in parallel with the relay 74 and the photocell 28 through a contact 76 of the relay 74.
  • One suitable example of the timer 75 is a 48 volt timer made by Potter & Brumfield.
  • the contact 76 is held in an open position whereby the timer 75 is not activated. However, as soon as the relay 74 is de energized due to the photocell 28 not receiving light from the lamp 29 because one of the articles 17 is blocking the opening 27, the relay 74 opens whereby the contact 76 closes to start the timer 75.
  • the timer 75 must be activated for a predetermined period of time before its normally open contact 77 is moved to a closed position and its normally closed contact 78, which is in the position of the circuit connecting the lead 69 to the solenoid 66, is moved to an open position.
  • the opening 27 is so disposed that one more of the articles 17 may be disposed within the channel 16 above the article 17 blocking the opening 27.
  • Another of the articles 17 is capable of being stored within the passage 33 between the toggle gate 35 and the top of the tray 12. These two articles 17 are the two articles that fill the channel 16 when the blocking lever 38 is moved from its blocking position to allow the remainder of the articles 17 within the channel 16 to move downwardly.
  • the length of the space above the opening 27 in the channel 16 and beneath the toggle gate 35 in the gate housing passage 33 is equal to the length of the space in the channel 16 that is blocked by the pins 41 of the blocking lever 38.
  • the time 75 is activated for the predetermined period.
  • the normally open contact 77 is closed and the normally closed contact 78 is open.
  • the article loading apparatus of the present invention has a second photocell 79 mounted in the gate housing 34.
  • a lamp 80 which also is mounted in the gate housing 34, directs its light across the passage 33 in the gate housing 34. Accordingly, the beam of light from the lamp 80 is blocked out during passage of each of the articles 17 from the housing 37 through the passage 33 to the channel 16 in the tray 12.
  • the photocell 79 is connected between the positive lead 69 and the negative lead 73 through a relay 81.
  • the photocell 79 receives light from the lamp 80, its resistance is lowered sufliciently to permit picking of the relay 81.
  • a timer 82 is connected in parallel with the relay 81 and the photocell 79 through a contact 83 of the relay 81.
  • the timer 82 is preferably the same type as the timer 75.
  • the contact 83 remains open whereby the timer 82 is not activated. However, as soon as the relay 81 is de-energized due to the photocell 79 not receiving light from the lamp 80 because one of the articles 17 is blocking the light from the lamp 80 to the photocell 79, the relay 81 de-energizes whereby the contact 83 closes to start the timer 82.
  • the timer 82 must be activated for a predetermined period of time before its normally open contact 84 is moved to a closed position and its normally closed contact 85, which is in the portion of the circuit connecting the lead 69 to the solenoid 66, is moved to an open position.
  • the normally open contact 84 and the normally closed contact 85 of the timer 82 will not have their positions changed as long as the articles 17 are flowing through the passage 33 into the channel 16 in the tray 12. This is because the short periods of time in which the light from the lamp 80 is blocked from the photocell 79 by one of the moving articles 17 is not sufficient to cause the timer 82 to close the normally open contact 84 and to open the normally closed contact 85.
  • the light from the lamp 80 is blocked for a sufficient period of time to allow the normally open contact 84 of the timer 82 to close and the normally closed contact 85 of the contact 82 to open only when the channel 16 is completely filled with the articles 17 except for the portion of the channel blocked by the pins 41 of the blocking lever 38 and the passage 33 in the gate housing 34 is completely filled with the articles 17.
  • the contacts 77 and 78 of the timer 75 are activated before the contacts 84 and 85 of the timer 82. This is because the light from the lamp 29 is blocked sooner than the light from the lamp 8%.
  • a normally open contact 86 of a loading position switch 87 (see FIG. 1), which is actuated when one of the channels 16 of the tray 12 is at the loading position, is closed due to actuation of the switch 87.
  • the contact 86 is disposed in the circuit from the positive lead 69 to the solenoid 66.
  • a normally open contact 88 of a home index switch 89 (see FIG. 5), which is actuated when an arm 90 on the piston rod 61 of the index cylinder 62 is in its home position whereby no indexing is occurring, is held closed due to actuation of the home index switch 89.
  • the contact 88 also is disposed in the circuit from the positive lead 69 to the solenoid 66.
  • the piston rod 43 of the control cylinder 42 moves downwardly to the position in which the pins 41 of the blocking lever 38 do not block the channel 16 (this is the dotted line position of the blocking lever 38 in FIG. 3 the spring depressing means 25 pulls the link 26 away from engagement with the actuating spring 24 whereby the retaining spring 23 moves to the position in which it retains the articles 17 within the channel 16 (this is the dotted line position of the retaining spring 23 in FIG. 3), and the toggle gate 35 moves to the blocking position.
  • the sequence of operations due to the solenoid 66 being de-energized is that the toggle gate 35 is first moved to block the passage 33 when the piston rod 43 starts downwardly.
  • the blocking lever 38 is moved to the dotted line position of FIG. 3 to allow the articles 17 to fill the remainder of the channel 16 until the lowermost of the articles 17 engages the retaining spring 31.
  • the withdrawal of the link 26 of the spring depressing means 25 is the final actuation due to the piston rod 43 moving downwardly.
  • the index cylinder 62 has fluid supplied thereto to retract the piston rod 61 into the index cylinder 62 when the solenoid 65 is picked.
  • the index solenoid 65 is connected to the lead 69 through a normally open contact 92 of a relay 93, a normally closed contact 94 of a switch 95 (see FIG. 1) and a normally open contact 96 of a switch 97 (see FIG. 3).
  • the switch 95 which is disposed at the left end of the support 10, is only actuated when the support 10 is filled with the trays 12 from the loading position to the left end of the support 10.
  • the normally closed contact 94 of the switch 95 is moved to its open position only when no further advancement of the trays 12 can occur without one of the trays 12 being pushed off of the support it).
  • the switch 97 is actuated by an arm 98 on the piston rod 43 when the piston rod 43 is in its lowermost position.
  • the index solenoid 65 cannot be picked unless the blocking lever 38 is out of its blocking position, the retaining spring 23 is retaining the articles 17 within the channel 16, and the tog le gate 35 is blocking the passage 33 in the gate housing 34.
  • the retaining spring 23 is in a position in which it would not retain the articles 17 within the channel 16, and the toggle gate 35 is in a position in which the articles 17 could continue to flow into the channel 16. Therefore, the contact 96 of the switch 97 is closed only when the piston rod 43 is in its lowermost position after loading of one of the channels 16 in the tray 12 has been completed.
  • the relay 93 is connected to the positive lead 69 through switches disposed in three different parallel circuits.
  • the three parallel circuits can cause picking of the relay 93 only when a normally open contact 99 of the home index switch 89 is closed due to the switch 89 being engaged by the arm 90 on the piston rod 61 of the index cylinder 62 as show in FIG. 5.
  • the index cylinder 62 it is necessary for the index cylinder 62 to be in its home position, as shown in FIG. 5, for any of the three parallel circuits to cause energization of the relay 93.
  • the relay 93 With the contact 99 closed when the index cylinder 62 is in the position of FIG. 5, the relay 93 is picked if a normally closed contact 100 of the loading position switch 87 is closed.
  • the contact 100 is opened only when one of the trays 12 has one of its channels 16 at the loading position.
  • the switch 87 is actuated to open the normally closed contact 100.
  • ener gization of the relay 93 cannot occur through the normally closed switch 100 since it is opened.
  • picking of the relay 93 occurs through the normally closed contact 100 when one of the trays 12 is not disposed at the loading position.
  • further energization of the relay 93 can occur only at the end of loading of each of the channels 16 in the tray 12.
  • the circuit through the contact 100 causes the tray 12 to be moved from the right side to the loading position.
  • further indexing or advancement of the tray 12 is controlled by the photocells 28 and 79 indicating that loading has been completed.
  • the third parallel circuit includes a contact 101 of the manual index switch, which also includes the contact 91.
  • the contact 101 is closed only when it is desired to manually index the tray 12.
  • the index solenoid 65 When the relay 93 is energized, the index solenoid 65 is energized provided that the contacts 94 and 96 are closed as previously mentioned. As soon as the piston rod 61 starts to retract into the index cylinder 62, the arm 90 is moved away from the switch 89 whereby the contacts 88 and 99 open since the arm 90 is no longer engaging the switch 89. This not only breaks the circuit through the contact 99 to the relay 3 but also breaks the circuit through the contact 88 to the solenoid 66. The opening of the contact 88 insures that there can be no actuation of the control cylinder 42 during indexing.
  • the relay 93 remains picked through a hold circuit comprising a contact 102 of the relay 93 and a normally closed contact 103 of a switch 104 (see FIG. which is actuated by the arm 90 on the piston rod 61 of the index cylinder 62 only when the rod 61 has been fully retracted to advance the chains 47 and 48 the predetermined amount.
  • the hold circuit for the relay 93 is broken only when the rotation of the shaft 58 by the index cylinder 62 has been completed.
  • the relay 93 is de-energized and the contact 92 moves to its normally open position whereby the index solenoid 65 is de-energized.
  • the flow of fluid to the index cylinder 62 is reversed and the piston rod 61 is extended. Because of the design of the teeth on the ratchet wheel 59, there is no reverse movement of the shaft 58 by the pawl 60 during extension of the piston rod 61 from the index cylinder 62.
  • the arm 90 When the piston rod 61 of the index cylinder 62 has returned to its home position, the arm 90 again engages the switch 89 to close the norm-ally open cont-act 99. If one of the trays 12 has still not been advanced to the loading position, the relay 93 is again picked and the indexing cycle repeated.
  • the normally closed switch 100 of the loading position contact 87 is opened. Since there are none of the articles 17 in the channel 16, the timer 75 is not energized whereby the normally open contact 77 is open. Accordingly, there can be no automatic picking of the relay 93 since the parallel circuits are open.
  • the switch 95 which is employed to indicate when the support 10 is filled with the trays 12 from the loading position to the left side of the support 10, is not actuated.
  • the loading position switch 87 is not actuated since no tray is disposed at the loading poston.
  • the relay 93 is picked because the con-tact 100 of the loading position switch 87 is closed due to the switch 87 not being actuated Since the home index switch S9 is actuated due to the arm 90 on the piston rod 61 of the index cylinder 62 engaging the switch 89, the normally open contact 99 of the switch 89 is closed. Accordingly, a circuit is provided through the relay 93.
  • the piston rod 61 of the index cylinder 62 is retracted to cause rota tion of the shaft 58 to advance the tray 12 toward the loading position.
  • the arm 90 ceases to engage the contact 89 whereby the contact 99 is moved to its normally open position. This breaks the circuit to the relay 93 through the contact 100.
  • the contact 102 of the relay 93 maintains the hold circuit for the relay 93 closed. The hold circuit for the relay 93 remains closed until the piston rod 61 of the index cylinder 62 has been fully retracted to completely advance the tray 12 the predetermined distance, which is the width of one of the channels 16.
  • the flow of fluid to the index cylinder 62 is reversed when the solenoid 65 is de-energized. As a result, the fluid flows through the hose 64 into the cylinder 62 and is removed from the cylinder 62 through the hose 63. This returns the piston rod 61 to the position of FIG. 5.
  • the arm 90 again engages the home index switch S9 to again close the normally open contact 99 whereby the relay 93 is again energized.
  • the photocell 28 receives light from the lamp 29 through the opening 27 in the tray 12.
  • the timer 75 is inactivated due to the relay 74 being de-energized whereby the normally open contact 77 of the timer 75 remains open.
  • the tray 12 reaches the loading position, automatic indexing of the tray 12 ceases.
  • the normally open contact 88 of the home index switch 89 is closed.
  • the normally open contact 86 of the loading position switch 87 also is closed since the loading position switch 87 has been actuated due to the tray 12 being in the loading position.
  • the normally closed contact 78 of the timer 75 is closed since the timer 75 is inactivated as previously mentioned.
  • the gate solenoid 66 is automatically actuated. This results in the piston rod 43 being lifted due to the supply of fluid to the control cylinder 42 through the hose 45 and removal of fluid from the cylinder 42 through the hose 46 because of the position of the solenoid 66. As soon as the rod 43 starts to move upwardly, the normally open contact 96 of the switch 97 opens due to the arm 98 on the rod 43 no longer engaging the switch 97.
  • the toggle gate 35 ceases to block the gate housing passage 33, the articles 17 from the housing 37 flow uninterruptedly through the passage 33 into the channel 16.
  • the channel 16 is filled to the position at which the opening 27 in the tray 12 is blocked by one of the articles 17, light from the lamp 29 to the photocell 28 is blocked.
  • the timer 75 being activated for a sufiicient period of time to cause the normally closed contact 78 of the timer 75 to open and then normally open contact 77 of the timer 75 to close.
  • this does not de-energize the solenoid 66 or energize the relay 93. This is because the solenoid 66 remains energized through the normally closed contact 85 of the timer 82 and the circuit of the relay 93 remains open due to the normally open contact 84 of the timer 82.
  • the toggle gate 35 blocks the passage 33 in the gate housing 34 by engaging the adjacent edges of the articles 17 already disposed within the passage 33 in the gate housing 34. This insures that only the articles 17 beneath the toggle gate 35 can flow into the channel 16 when the pins 41 of the blocking lever 38 are removed from their blocking position.
  • the hold circuit for the relay 93 continues until the contact 103 of the switch 104, which indicates full retraction of the piston rod 61 of the index cylinder 62, has been actuated by the arm 90 on the piston rod 61 of the index cylinder 62.
  • the index cylinder 62 when the index cylinder 62 is energized, it advances the tray 12 a predetermined distance, which is the width of one of the channels 16, to position the next of the channels 16 at the loading position. Since the empty channel 16 does not have any of the articles 17 therein, the timer 75 is inactivated whereby the normally open switch 77 returns to its open position so that the relay 93 can not be again picked. Then, the cycle of energizing the solenoid 66, as previously mentioned, repeats.
  • FIG. 7 there is shown an electro-mechanical drive arrangement for indexing the tray 12 rather than the pneumatic arrangement of FIG. 5.
  • the drive includes a motor connected through a gear box 111 to rotate a belt 112.
  • the belt 112 passes around a pulley 113 on a shaft 114 of the gear of the gear box 111 and a pulley 115 of a clutch 116.
  • the shaft 117 carries a circular plate 118 thereon for rotation therewith.
  • the circular plate 118 has a cam slot formed therein and extending around the circular plate 118 to receive a cam follower 119 on an arm 120, which carries the pawl 60.
  • the arm 120 is mounted on the support 10 so that it can only slide to move the pawl 60 relative to the ratchet wheel 59.
  • each actuation of the clutch 116 causes rotation of the shaft 58 to advance the tray 12 the predetermined distance, which is the width of one of the channels 16 in the tray 12.
  • the clutch 116 connects the pulley 115 to the shaft 117 whereby rotation of the motor 110 results in rotation of the shaft 58 during each revolution of the shaft 117.
  • the tray 12 is continued to be advanced toward the loading position with each index cycle moving the tray 12 the width of one of the channels 16.
  • a contact 122 of a loading position switch which is disposed at the same position on the support 10 as the loading position switch 87, is moved to connect the positive lead 69 with a lead 123 of a circuit for a gate solenoid 124, which controls the position of the toggle gate 35.
  • the index solenoid 121 continues to be energized until the tray 12 is disposed at the loading position.
  • a contact 125 of a switch which indicates the support 10 is loaded with the trays 12 and is similar to the switch 13 95, is disposed between the contact 122 and the index solenoid 121.
  • the contact 125 is in its normally closed position.
  • the clutch 116 When the index solenoid 121 is energized, the clutch 116 also connects the pulley 115 with a shaft 126 (see FIG. 7), which has a cam 127 mounted thereon.
  • the surface of the cam 127 has a cam follower 128, which is mounted on the end of a link 129, biased into engagement therewith by a spring 130 acting on the link 129 whereby the follower 128 follows the surface of the cam 127.
  • the switch 135 is closed. Accordingly, when lZhEZCOIltZtCt 122 is moved into engagement with the lead 123 due to the tray 12 being at the loading position, the positive lead 69 is connected to the parallel contacts 78 and 85 through the closed contact 135.
  • the lead 136 also connects through a normally closed contact 138 of the relay 137 to the gate solenoid 124. While the relay 137 is picked when the contact 122 engages the lead 123 with the contacts 135 and 78 closed, the normally closed contact 138 does not open for a few milliseconds after the relay 137 initially receives the large voltage pulse from the DC source 67. This is sufficient to allow the large voltage pulse from the DC source 67 to be applied to the gate solenoid 124. This large voltage is required to overcome the spring, which is holding the toggle gate in the blocking position in the passage 33 in the gate housing 34.
  • the spring depressing means 25 is actuated in this embodiment through energization of a solenoid 140. Each energization of the solenoid 140 removes the link 26 from engagement with the actuating spring 24 to allow the re- 14 taining spring 23 to be moved to the dotted line position of FIG. 3.
  • the solenoid 140 is connected between the positive lead 69 and the negative lead 70 through a movable contact 141, which is controlled by a cam 142.
  • the cam 142 is mounted on the shaft 117 for rotation therewith.
  • the cam 142 causes energization of the solenoid 140 to withdraw the link 26 of the spring depressing means 25 from a position in which it blocks the advancement of the tray 12 before the tray 12 is advanced by the pawl 60.
  • the cam 142 also is designed to open the circuit to the solenoid 140 so that the spring depressing means 25 has the link 26 returned into engagement with the actuating spring 24 after advancement of tray 12 by the pawl 60 has ceased but before the blocking lever 38 is returned to the solid line position of FIG. 3.
  • the spring depressing means 25 moves the link 26 during each index cycle with the link 26 returned to the position in which it can engage the actuating spring 24 before the end of each index cycle.
  • the spring depressing means 25 When the tray 12 reaches the loading position with indexing of the tray 12 ceasing due to the contact 122 being moved into engagement with the lead 123, the spring depressing means 25 has the link 26 disposed in engagement with the actuating spring 24. This is because the link 26 returns into engagement with the actuating spring 24 before the end of the index cycle when the tray 12 was advanced to the loading position. Therefore, the reraining spring 23 is disposed in the solid line position of FIG. 3 before there is energization of the gate solenoid 124 or movement of the blocking lever 38 to the blocking position.
  • the gate solenoid 124 cannot be actuated until the contact 135 of the switch 134 is moved to the closed position due to the switch 134 being engaged by the arm 133.
  • the blocking lever 38 must be in its blocking position before the solenoid 124- can be energized.
  • the same sequence of operation of the various related elements occurs when the tray 12 is at its' loading position as when the pneumatic arrangement of FIG. 5 is employed. That is, the retaining spring 23 is first moved to the solid line position of FIG. 3. (This occurs before the end of the index cycle.) Then, the blocking lever '38 is moved to the solid line position of FIG. 3
  • the normally closed contact 78 opens and then normally closed contact opens.
  • the contact 78 opens first because the timer 75 is activated before the timer 82.
  • the activation of the timer 75 occurs when the photocell 28 is not receiving light from the lamp 29 due to the blocking of the opening 27 by one of the articles 17.
  • the gate solenoid 124 is de-energized whereby the toggle gate 35 blocks the gate housing passage 33.
  • the normally open contacts 77 and 84 close. Again, the contact 77 of the timer 75 closes before the contact 84 of the timer 82. However, when both are closed, a circuit is completed through the contacts 84 and 77, the contact 125, and the index solenoid 121 whereby the index solenoid 121 is energized. This causes the clutch 116 to be actuated.
  • the cam 142 rotates sufficiently to close the contact 141 whereby the solenoid 140 is energized. This results in the link 26 of the spring depressing means 25 being removed from engagement with the actuating spring 24 whereby the retaining spring 23 is returned to the dotted line position of FIG. 3.
  • the pawl 60 is effective to rotate the ratchet wheel 59 only after all of the foregoing operations have occurred. This is accomplished through properly controlling the shape of the cam slot in the circular plate 118.
  • the initial operation is to move the toggle gate 35 to block the passage 33.
  • the blocking lever 38 is removed toallow the articles 17, which are above the articles 17 blocking the opening 27 and below the toggle gate 35, to fall into the channel 16.
  • the retaining spring 23 is moved to the dotted line position of FIG. 3.
  • the cam 142 which is mounted on the shaft 117, also must be properly controlled so that the spring depressing means 25 does not have the link 26 withdrawn before the channel 16 is completely filled but that the link 26 is withdrawn before indexing of the tray 12 occurs.
  • the index solenoid 121 is energized to actuate the clutch 116.
  • the blocking lever 38 is moved out of the blocking position, and then the link 26 of the spring depressing means 25- is moved out of the tray 12.
  • the pawl 60 rotates the ratchet Wheel 59 to rotate the shaft 58. This results in the tray 12 being advanced the predetermined distance, which is equal to the width of one of the channels 16.
  • index cycles continue until the tray K12 is disposed at the loading position.
  • the contact 122 is moved from connection with the contact 125 and into contact with the lead 123. Because the blocking lever 38 is disposed in the blocking position at the end of any indexing cycle, the arm 133 on the rod 132 is in engagement with the switch 134. This causes the contact 135 to be closed.
  • the large voltage from the DC source 67 also is supplied momentarily through the contact 138 of the relay 137 to energize the solenoid 124.
  • the contact 138 opens.
  • the solenoid 124 is held open by current flowing through the resistor 139, which causes a large voltage drop.
  • the voltage is sufiicient to maintain the solenoid 124 energized.
  • the toggle gate 35 When the solenoid 124 is energized, the toggle gate 35 is moved to open the passage 33 and allow the articles 17 16 to flow uninterruptedly from the housing 37 into the channel 16 in the tray 12. It should be understood that the retaining spring 23 was moved to the solid line position of FIG. 3 due to the de-energization of the solenoid 140 during the indexing cycle, which disposed the tray 12 at the loading position, but before the end thereof.
  • the opening 27 is blocked by one of the articles 17.
  • the timer 75- being activated; after a predetermined period of activation of the timer 75, the normally closed contact 78 opens and the normally open contact 77 closes.
  • the contact 85 which is in parallel with the contact 78, remains closed until the timer 82 has been activated for a predetermined period of time. This occurs after the gate housing passage 33 is completely filled with the articles 17 to prevent light from the lamp being supplied to the photocell 79.
  • the clutch 116 is again actuated.
  • the continuously rotating motor 110 drives the shafts 117 and 126 when the clutch 116 is actuated.
  • the initial actuation of the shafts 117 and 126 results in the cam 127 being rotated to move the rod 132 downwardly whereby the blocking lever 38 is removed from the channel 16 to allow the remainder of the channel 16 to be filled with the stored articles 17, which are disposed above the top of the opening 27 and below the toggle gate 35.
  • the cam 142 on the shaft 117 is rotated sufficiently to energize the solenoid 140 to pull the link 26 away from the actuating spring 24.
  • the retaining spring 23 moves to the dotted line position of FIG. 3 to retain the articles 17 within the filled channel 16.
  • the pawl 60 is effective to rotate the shaft 58 to advance the tray 12. This is due to the arrangement of the cam slot in the circular plate 118.
  • the contact 122 Since the tray 12 is still at the loading position, the contact 122 has remained in engagement with the lead 123-. Thus, there can be no energization of the index solenoid 121 through the contact 122.
  • the timer 75 is deactivated since the opening 27 is no longer blocked by one of the articles 17. Accordingly, the switch 77 returns to its open position and no further actuation of the index solenoid 121 can occur.
  • the contact of the switch 134 is again closed due to the arm 133 engaging the switch 134.
  • the normally open contact 135 is closed when the switch is engaged by the arm 133. This is when the rod 132 is moved upwardly to the posi- 17 tion of FIG. 7. This is the position in which the blocking lever 3-8 blocks the channel 16.
  • the normally closed switch 78 is again closed. Accordingly, when the blocking lever 38 is in its blocking position as indicated by the normally open switch 135 being closed at the end of the index cycle, a circuit again is completed through the relay 137 and the contact 138 of the relay 137 whereby the solenoid 124 is energized. This again causes the toggle gate 35 to open the passage 33. As a result, the articles 17 begin to fiow uninterruptedly into the empty channel 16 of the tray 12. The remainder of the cycle is as previously described.
  • An advantage of this invention is that articles may be rapidly loaded. Another advantage of this invention is that the area into which the articles are to be loaded is completely filled.
  • An apparatus for loading articles into a channel or the like to completely fill the channel including:
  • the apparatus according to claim 1 including means to position the channel so that it may be filled by gravity.
  • An apparatus for loading articles into a channel or the like to completely fill the channel including:
  • said preventing means being disposed in an inelfective position upon the uninterrupted supply of articles being stopped by said stop means whereby the channel may be filled;
  • the apparatus according to claim 3 including means to position the channel so that it may be filled by gravity.
  • An apparatus for loading articles into a channel or the like to completely fill the channel including:
  • said movable means including means to detect when the remainder of the channel is filled with said preventing means in its effective position.
  • An apparatus for loading articles into a channel or the like to completely fill the channel including:
  • said preventing means being disposed in an inelfective position upon the uninterrupted supply of articles being stopped by said stop means whereby the channel may be filled.
  • An apparatus for loading articles into a tray or the like having at least one channel or the like therein to be completely filled with the articles comprising:
  • movable means to prevent complete filling of the channel during the uninterrupted supply of articles thereto; means to stop the uninterrupted supply of articles to the channel being filled when the remainder of the channel is filled;
  • the apparatus according to claim 7 including means to dispose the tray so that the channel may be filled by gravity.
  • the apparatus according to claim 7 including means to regulate the movement of said stop means and said movable means so that said movable means moves to its inefiective position only after said stop means stops the supply of articles.
  • the apparatus according to claim 10 including means to inactivate said positioning means after an empty channel is disposed at the loading position until the channel is completely filled.
  • An apparatus for loading articles into container means or the like having at least one channel or the like therein to receive articles uninterruptedly from a source including:
  • An apparatus for loading articles "into container means or the like having at least one channel or the like therein to receive articles uninterruptedly from a source including:
  • the container means has a plurality of substantially parallel channels therein;
  • said positioning means includes means to index the container means aftereach channel is filled to position an empty channel for filling;
  • said preventing means comprises a pivotally mounted member adapted to be disposed within the channel receiving articles in its effective position to prevent complete filling of the channel.
  • said stop means includes:
  • the apparatus according to claim 19 including means to render said preventing means inefiective after said pivotally mounted member of said stop means prevents the flow of articles to the channel.
  • the apparatus according to claim 16 including: means to support the container means thereon for movement by said index means; a
  • An apparatus for loading articles into container means or the like having at least one channel or the like therein to be completely filled with the articles including:
  • An apparatus for loading articles into container means or the like having at least one channel or the like therein to be completely filled with the articles including:
  • the apparatus according to claim 23 including means to move said stop means to a position to allow sup ply of articles from said supply means only when one of the channels is disposed at the loading position by said positioning means to receive the articles from said supply means.
  • the container means has a plurality of substantially parallel channels therein;
  • said positioning means includes means to index the container means after each channel is filled to position an empty channel for filling;
  • each of the channels in the container means has means disposed at each end thereof to retain the articles within the channel including means to render the retaining means closest to said supply means ineflective until the channel is completely filled with the articles.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • De-Stacking Of Articles (AREA)
  • Branching, Merging, And Special Transfer Between Conveyors (AREA)
  • Special Conveying (AREA)
  • Specific Conveyance Elements (AREA)
US738194A 1968-06-19 1968-06-19 Article loading apparatus Expired - Lifetime US3540180A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US73819468A 1968-06-19 1968-06-19

Publications (1)

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US3540180A true US3540180A (en) 1970-11-17

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US738194A Expired - Lifetime US3540180A (en) 1968-06-19 1968-06-19 Article loading apparatus

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US (1) US3540180A (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html)
JP (1) JPS4813031B1 (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html)
CA (1) CA931925A (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html)
DE (1) DE1930666B2 (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html)
FR (1) FR2011177A1 (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html)
GB (1) GB1258494A (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3662881A (en) * 1971-01-29 1972-05-16 Ibm Module handling apparatus
US20090308024A1 (en) * 2006-07-13 2009-12-17 Ishida Co., Ltd. Transport apparatus and boxing apparatus provided with same
CN109353733A (zh) * 2018-10-15 2019-02-19 潘秀兰 转盘式物品架
CN120308412A (zh) * 2025-06-19 2025-07-15 金翼食品(吉林)股份有限公司 一种禽蛋装托装置

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2585558A (en) * 1946-12-05 1952-02-12 Eino E Lakso Article counting and filling
US2656962A (en) * 1949-10-08 1953-10-27 George H Daniels Receptacle filling machine
US2855737A (en) * 1954-06-24 1958-10-14 Rca Corp Apparatus for automatically loading material into a magazine

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BE500295A (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html) * 1950-04-04

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2585558A (en) * 1946-12-05 1952-02-12 Eino E Lakso Article counting and filling
US2656962A (en) * 1949-10-08 1953-10-27 George H Daniels Receptacle filling machine
US2855737A (en) * 1954-06-24 1958-10-14 Rca Corp Apparatus for automatically loading material into a magazine

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3662881A (en) * 1971-01-29 1972-05-16 Ibm Module handling apparatus
US20090308024A1 (en) * 2006-07-13 2009-12-17 Ishida Co., Ltd. Transport apparatus and boxing apparatus provided with same
US7905077B2 (en) * 2006-07-13 2011-03-15 Ishida Co., Ltd. Transport apparatus and boxing apparatus provided with same
CN109353733A (zh) * 2018-10-15 2019-02-19 潘秀兰 转盘式物品架
CN109353733B (zh) * 2018-10-15 2024-03-12 潘秀兰 转盘式物品架
CN120308412A (zh) * 2025-06-19 2025-07-15 金翼食品(吉林)股份有限公司 一种禽蛋装托装置

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Publication number Publication date
JPS4813031B1 (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html) 1973-04-25
CA931925A (en) 1973-08-14
FR2011177A1 (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html) 1970-02-27
GB1258494A (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html) 1971-12-30
DE1930666B2 (de) 1971-04-29
DE1930666A1 (de) 1970-01-02

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